Blu-ray Review: More Shocks And Surprises In GAME OF THRONES The Complete Fifth Season

HBO’s television juggernaut, Game Of Thrones continues to evolve through its fifth season. It’s a show that is continually shifting and moving forward and one of the most captivating things about it is the predicability of where the plot will go (and which cast members will die).

This fifth season of the show sees it catch-up with with George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire series, meaning that for the last time hardcore fans of the novels will no longer know what’s in-store for beloved characters. The end of the previous season saw a changing tide for most plot threads and these ten episodes take the show into new territory. The fantasy elements of Martin’s world are now coming to the fore and the show is taking on a new mystical slant that wasn’t as dominant in previous seasons. Once again there’s a mass character cull and you’ll be wondering if anyone from the show’s pilot episode will ever make it through to the finale alive.

So, what’s going in Season 5?

Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) and The Night’s Watch must made some difficult decisions with The Wildings and The White Walkers. Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) continues to seek revenge in Bravos, while her sister Sansa (Sophie Turner) finds that marriage to Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) isn’t what she imagined. Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) is now on the run and in search of Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen. Meanwhile, the Lannisters begin to lose their grip on King’s Landing.

Game Of Thrones continues to push the boundaries of television. Once again the visuals and special effects are of movie quality and the acting is top notch. Nothing ever feels cheap and this integrity buys a lot of goodwill with viewers when the occasional plot-line becomes plodding (Arya’s time in Bravos is particularly languid).

As the season draws to a close, the pace quickens and the tension rises. Things then begin to take an even darker turn when Kit Harrington’s Jon Snow is attacked and (seemingly) killed by his fellow men of The Night’s Watch. This sequence once again echoes Shakespeare as there are shades of Julius Caesar’s assassination in the scene that sees the episode (and the season) end. Season six should answer a lot of the questions which have ben left unanswered, but one thing’s for sure – when it comes to predicting what happens in Game Of Thrones – you know nothing.

Special Features

Everyone episode except seven comes with a commentary, while you also get a variety of documentaries looking at the story, characters and the production of the show. Another great box set that just adds to your appreciation of this groundbreaking television show.